Pastoral search questions every candidate should ask the local church:
By: Rev. Richard Cozart & Rev. Paul R. Shockley
www.prshockley.org
These questions are developed to assist those students and pastors who are being considered as pastoral candidates in a local church. Some of these questions were originally conceived out of experience. To be sure, some of these questions are more important than others and some questions are similar or related. Moreover, this list is not exhaustive. Nevertheless, I encourage you to study these questions before you engage in the pastoral search process. Then tailor these questions to your situational setting; they will serve you well as you seek God’s very best.
These questions are not to be condemnatory or give cause to blame. Rather, they are probing questions to ascertain whether this is a “good” fit for you and your family; none of us want to make mistakes. In order to explain why I am asking these questions, I tend to use an illustration such as if I am going to be “married” to a church, I need to know to whom and what I am being married. Thus, the same questions you ask your “potential” spouse should be similar to those who are in leadership positions. Remember, while they are interviewing you, you are also interviewing them.
Lastly, carefully observe their non-verbal language and how they interact with each other. Mannerisms alone give a world of information about the people with and to whom you will be serving. If you are unfamiliar with body language, you may want to consider purchasing, How to Read a Person like a Book; it is a helpful tool in ascertaining general behavior or responses (I don’t agree with every aspect of this book but it has been very helpful to me).
Here are the questions (not in a specific order) to ask your elders, deacons, music leader, pastoral search committee, etc:
1. What is your definition of a pastor-teacher?
2. What is your church’s vision, historically and presently?
3. What is your church’s core value/purposes?
4. Has and does the church’s leadership make decisions in their elder meetings that maximize the church’s purpose and values? Do they make decisions that purposefully maximize the church’s vision and values?
5. Do you elders/deacons/music leader: believe you understand the vision and mission of the church?
6. How would you characterize your (elders/deacons/music leader) level of commitment to the church vision?
7. How would you believe you (elders/deacons/music leader) communicate the vision to others?
8. Define leadership?
9. Describe effective church leadership?
10. On a scale from 0 to 10, if this church were thought of as an organism, how healthy is it?
11. Can you identify the strengths that are contributing to the health of your church?
12. Can you identify the factors that are weakening the health of your church?
13. What you are you most proud of about your church? Can you list the top 10?
14. What are you least proud of about your church? Can you list the worst 10?
15. What are you ashamed of about your church?
16. What is the church’s reputation in the community?
17. What is the church’s reputation the immediate neighborhood?
18. Please describe the location and surrounding of the church (economically, race diversification, politically, culturally)?
19. Will the staff be accountable directly to the pastor or the pastor and elders?
20. What have you done to bring out the very best in your church?
21. As an elder/deacon, what is the most rewarding aspect of your ministry?
22. As elders/deacons/music leader: what ministries are you most energized, productive, and fulfilled?
23. As elders/deacons/music leaders: where and what do you find most of your time/ministry spent?
24. As elders/deacons/music leaders: are there any ministries/work in which you spend too much time?
25. As elders/deacons/music leaders: are there any ministries/work in which you do not spend enough time?
26. As elders/deacons/music leaders: what area of ministry gives you the most stress?
27. As elders/deacons/music leaders: what area (s) of ministry do you find difficult to resolve?
28. How is the senior pastor’s opinion valued among the elder board? Is the elder board vote majority or unanimous?
29. What role are the elders in the hiring of additional pastoral or ministry staff?
30. When it comes to decision-making, where does the final and ultimate authority reside? Can the senior pastor override any elder board vote without resentment or hostility? Has that been the history of your elder board meetings?
31. How does the elder board handle differences among one another in meetings?
32. How does the elder board handle differences of opinion if they differ with their senior pastor?
33. Will the elder and deacon board, associate pastor, music leader, and youth director, be open to filling out an elder self-evaluation assessment I have in view of the candidating process? [see www.prshockley.org for an example of an elder self-evaluation assessment].
34. As an elder/deacon/music leader: are their significant changes that have been difficult for you in your elder ministry?
35. As an elder/deacon/music leader: what changes in your elder ministry would you like to accomplish?
36. As an elder/deacon/music leader: explain what you have in terms of personal accountability? In other words, do you have some type of personal accountability? If so, how good are they in holding you accountable? How often do you meet?
37. As an elder/deacon/music leader: in what area of ministry would like additional development or skill training?
38. Do you have any personal, family or spiritual goals?
39. What has gone wrong with America’s pulpits today?
40. How important is the beautification of your church property? Is there anybody in charge of beautification? What are his or her strengths and weaknesses? Are there any emotional problems? Are they spiritually immature or are self-seeking?
41. How important are social functions to the church body? Is there somebody (s) who is in charge of social functions? Does he or she suffer from emotional problems? Are they spiritually immature or are self-seeking?
42. Describe the personalities of each member of the elder board, deacon board, administrative, and staff position?
43. What is the church’s position on borrowing money?
44. How about raising money for special projects?
45. How do you feel about records and acknowledgments of stewardship?
46. What is your policy on financial giving? Do you demand the pastor to give sermons every year on giving?
47. What do you expect in the first year of my pastoral ministry?
48. What do you expect in the first three years of my pastoral ministry?
49. What do you expect after the third year of my pastoral ministry?
50. Do you want the church to grow?
51. Do your church members want the church to grow? What percentage?
52. Do you think you have realistic expectations about yourself as elders, church members, pastoral staff, and fulfillment of church vision/core values?
53. Why are you interested in me? What can I contribute to the church that you see?
54. Are new elders being developed? Is there a rotation system or are all permanently active? What are the roles of elders that have rotated off? What has the history been with former elders? In the past have any undermined or strengthened the authority of the elder board or pastor in view of decisions directions that he or they have made?
55. How do we come to know “God’s will for this church?” What does that mean and what does that look like? What process do you follow as church leaders to know what God’s will is?
56. Do church people believe that this church is being chastised by God in view of past sins?
57. Are there any church factions or divisions among the people?
58. Where do people go (e.g., other churches; no church at all) when they leave your church?
59. How many visitors are you having on a weekly basis?
60. Review the pastoral selection process up this the point.
61. Do the people support the elders in view of their ability to make decisions?
62. Can I contact others for reference?
63. Can we attend Sunday school as members (am I responsible to teach Sunday school as well as preach)?
64. Vacation? Study Leave? Office Hours? Funds for study?
65. Counseling? What is the pastor’s role in counseling others? What procedures are they to follow? Do you encourage your pastor to “outsource” counseling?
66. Do you have a new member’s class? What are the requirements for membership?
67. How many in the church are trained in evangelism? How many were saved the last 12 months? About the last three years?
68. If the elders disagree with the pastor’s methods in an area of ministry, how would they approach the problem?
69. Do you expect the pastor to do the ministry or train others to do the ministry?
70. What are your expectations of my wife and family?
71. What sermon subjects do you expect?
72. How long am I to preach? How long can I preach? How little can I preach?
73. What pastoral oversight is given over music selection and the activities and judgment calls by the music pastor?
74. How do the elders handle disagreements or differences of opinion between the senior pastor and music leader?
75. If I were hired as pastor, how would you feel if I chose to replace the current pastoral staff? How about administrative staff?
76. If I were to ever desire the replacement of the music minister, what procedures are followed? What about the associate pastor? What about the Christian education director? Nursery director? Lay leaders?
77. Do you pay your music director? How would you feel if I were to ask the music director to evaluate the church’s leadership and effectiveness?
78. What are your expectations of lay leaders? What training do they receive?
79. Do each of you elders understand the doctrinal statement? Do you have any disagreements with the doctrinal statement? If so, what are they?
80. Can you defend the doctrinal statement from the Bible?
81. Do you have any Sunday school teachers who are not members?
82. Do you have any Sunday school teachers who are members but disagree with the doctrinal statement?
83. Do you have any hyper-Calvinists?
84. Do you have any members who are against evangelism or missions?
85. Do you have any home-schoolers in your church?
86. How many children are going to public school?
87. Do you have any home-schoolers who are followers of Bill Gothard’s teachings?
88. Are their any home school parents who believe that if you are not raising your children via home-schooling, you are sinning as a parent?
89. Are their any public school parents who believe that home-school parents are depriving their children of social exposure?
90. Do you know of any members or non-members who believe that the sign gifts are for today?
91. Do you know any members who strongly advocate Bob Theime’s teachings over and against all other interpretations?
92. Do you have any ultra-dispensationalists?
93. What is the church’s stance on “Free Grace” vs. “Lordship salvation”? What is your position on these issues?
94. Where are we to look when it comes to assurance of our salvation?
95. Are there any postribulationists? Are there any amillennialists? Any preterists?
96. Do you have anybody who disagrees with the inerrancy of Scripture?
97. Do you have anybody who ascribe to modalism?
98. Do you have anybody who threatens to leave the church if hymns or sung?
99. Do you have anybody who threatens to leave the church if praise songs are played?
100. Who makes the final decision on choosing the pastor?
101. What will be the itinerary when we candidate?
102. Where could we live? Can we live where we live right now? Do we have to move?
103. What are the preparations for the Sunday candidate service?
104. How do each of the elders perform their devotionals?
105. How do the elders handle conflict and stress personally?
106. Do you see elder and deacon qualifications in 1 Timothy and Titus as ideals to strive for or are they characteristics that elders and deacons must actually possess?
107. Please give the details of the dismissal of your senior pastor?
108. Please give the details of the dismissal of your associate pastor? Youth director? Music leader?
109. How would you characterize the effectiveness of you music leader?
110. What are the music leader’s strength and weaknesses?
111. How would you characterize the effectiveness of your associate pastor?
112. How would you characterize the effectiveness of your youth director?
113. What are the weak areas for each elder? Do you need training in evangelism and in leadership ministry skills?
114. Is there any elder who is afraid or shy to pray in public?
115. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each elder?
116. How can the pastors (both senior and associate) dismissal be avoided in the future? What have the elders learned through this?
117. How would the elders respond to these plans?
- Spiritual Life conference?
- Prophecy conference?
- Evangelism retreat?
- Men’s retreat?
- Outreach plans?
- Cell groups?
- Board of deacons?
- Lady retreats?
- Procure a new youth director?
- New music director?
- Accountability of elders and deacons?
- Pastoral care design team?
- Personnel evaluation tools? We evaluate personnel, whether voluntary or paid? Create a personnel evaluation board?
- Baptism?
- Leadership planning retreat?
118. Do any of the elder’s wives have emotional or/and physical problems?
119. Is there any spouse among those in leadership (lay level included) that suffers from emotional or/and physical problems?
120. Am I expected to come to every function?
121. How many board meetings, committees, or councils am I expected to personally lead? How many am I obligated to serve in as a member?
122. What evangelistic ministries to engage the community have you tried? What worked? What didn’t work?